Buckeyes’ Late Rally Not Enough, Fall 19-14 at Michigan

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite a late scoring run, the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team fell in its regular season finale, 19-14, to No. 19 Michigan Friday night at U-M Lacrosse Stadium in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes (5-8, 1-4 B1G) finish the conference slate tied for fifth with No. 11 Rutgers.

The Short Story
Ohio State scored five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome the Michigan lead. The Buckeyes faced an 18-9 deficit with just over 10 minutes to play in the final frame before Ari Allen scored at 10:03 to start the team’s largest scoring run of the night. Colby Smith and Dillon Magee added goals of their own while Matt Caputo recorded two in the fourth quarter to cut into the Michigan advantage, but Ohio State ultimately ran out of time to complete the comeback.

The Buckeyes and Wolverines battled back and forth in the first half and went to the locker room at the break tied, 7-7. Ohio State had its only lead of the game 7:36 into the game after scoring two consecutive goals in the first quarter, the first from Blake Eiland (9:59) and second from Jack Myers (7:36), for a 2-1 edge. Michigan ended the quarter with a 5-2 advantage, but Ohio State rattled off the first two and last two goals of the second quarter and outscored the Wolverines, 5-2, in the frame to tie the game.

Michigan tallied 10 goals in the third quarter and held Ohio State to two to take control of the lead.

In the end, Ohio State had ten players record a point against Michigan and finished with 14 goals on 20 shots on target. The team committed just nine turnovers and forced six of the Wolverines’ 11 turnovers.

Game Notes

• Colby Smith and Matt Caputo tallied three goals each for Ohio State. Smith’s hat trick is his third of the year and Caputo’s is his second.
• Ohio State’s nine turnovers against Michigan are a season low mark.
• The 33 goals scored in Friday night’s game are the most scored in series history between Ohio State and Michigan.
• The Buckeyes capitalized on both of their man-up opportunities, with Ed Shean and Caputo tallying the two EMO goals for Ohio State.
• Goaltender Skylar Wahlund made 15 saves on the night for his second-most saves in a game this year.
• Marcus Hudgins scooped up a team-high three ground balls in the game.
• Cullen Brown earned his first start as a Buckeye on Friday. The freshman has played in all 13 games this season and has grabbed 27 ground balls, including two against Michigan.
• Ari Allen scored his first goal of the season with the Buckeyes’ 10th goal of the game.

Statistically Speaking
Shots: Michigan 34, Ohio State 20

Ground Balls: Michigan 47, Ohio State 18
Faceoffs: Michigan 29-37, Ohio State 8-37

Clears: Michigan 15-15, Ohio State 18-20
Extra Man: Ohio State 2-2, Michigan 1-2

Saves: Ohio State (Wahlund) 15, Michigan (Carr) 6

Turnovers: Michigan 11, Ohio State 9

Ohio State Scoring: Caputo 3-0-3, Smith 3-0-3, Myers 1-2-3, Lewis 1-1-2, Magee 1-1-2, Allen 1-0-1, Borda 1-0-1, Eiland 1-0-1, Pehlke 1-0-1, Shean 1-0-1

What’s Next
The Buckeyes’ postseason begins next week with the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, April 29. The full tournament bracket, including start times, will be announced following the completion of the regular season on April 23.

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